Our son is 16 years old and struggles daily with autism since age 3. I identify with my son for different reasons. I'm transgender knowing since age 4. Emily.

Monday, February 1, 2010

Life Lessons: Looking at the bright side

The one major thing we try to teach our children in life is that they should always try to look at the bright side and never get discouraged or give up. It is essential that we maintain a healthy and positive outlook no matter the circumstances or burdens we face in life. We all wish to achieve great things and make a difference though the reality is we will usually get caught up in the day to day routines of life. This is the norm for most of us raising families. We all need to sometimes take a step back from our busy lives and try to experience life in a more simplistic way even if it is for a brief moment. We also need to free ourselves from our fears and worries so we can have more fulfilling lives and from there try to adapt a more spiritual and healthy view of life, family, work and responsibility. We are responsible for how we live our lives and although we make our choices we are also affected by factors beyond our control and we must learn to grow and get through the tough times we all encounter at some point in our lives.

I have learned in my own experiences that we are all very similar in ways and very different in ways also. The way we live life is based on so many factors and how we view things in our lives is based on our life experiences and the relationships we develop. As we grow it is essential that we maintain the youthful innocence that we were blessed with as young children. I see my son and his innocence and the precious way he relates to us and his peers and I am so delighted to see that child like quality that he should hold onto throughout his life. If we all stayed true to our inner child I believe the world we live in would be a better place. That is one very important view of mine and I believe that if we could try to reduce stress in our lives we could start to have more joy in our lives because we would not live in constant fear as that just makes life seem so much more difficult and takes years away from us.

If we could find ways to spend more time with our family and be very supportive and encourage our children we would feel so much better about our role as responsible parents. We as adults need to balance our lives and always stay committed to our work responsibilities and our family responsibilities. We learn that we can not get time back when it has passed us by and before we know it our children will be deciding on colleges so I know how important it is to spend more time with my son and teach him about life and to never be afraid. My parents helped to make the world right for me and I also need to help make the world right for my son. I need to make sure I can sit with my son on a weeknight and help him with his math assignment. That is very important as well as completing my work requirements. I take all things in my life very seriously and know in my heart that I am always trying my best and trying always to be respectful of others and to always do right by others. This is what I wish to teach my son so he too can live a life of promise and to always look on the bright side as that is what helps us in living and making choices.

In life we realize that we can not always experience happiness but if we can hold on to our memories and our relationships and we stay true to ourselves, our family, our work and our friends we will find a way to look at the brighter side and smile for that is what we all wish for for us and especially for our children.